Sieve cleaner



June 14, 1932. FORSBERG 1,862,818

SIEVE CLEANER Filed Jan. 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l ay-fox I F. Forsberg Patented June 14!, 1932 N i T OFFICE FREDERICK FOR-SBEEG, OF DAUPHIN, MANITOBA, CANADA SIEVE CLEANER The invention relates to improvements in grain hulling and cleaning machines and an object of the invention is to provide a machine that can be separately used or can be used in conjunction with a grain threshing machine and which is constructed in a simple, durable and inexpensive manner and is arranged to effectively separate the undesired material from the desired grain seeds deliver such materials and seeds.

A further object is to construct the machine so. that it can be utilized to initially hull. theseeds and subsequently clean the same r, or can be used for cleaning purposes only without requiring hulling device forming part of the structure,

A further object is to provide the machine with means for delivering the cleaned deqqq sired grain to an elevator which discharges itto a bagger and wherein the grain discharging from the shoe is subjected to an air blast prior tobeing delivered to the elevator.

A still further object is to provide a ma 2 chine having a cylinder and concave for being adjustable in respect to the cylinder.

A still further object is to provide screens and reciprocating brushes underlying the screens and adapted to keep the screen perfo rations clear of foreign material.

With the above more important objects in view, the invention consisting essentially in the arrangement'and construction of parts hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying draw-- ings, in which i Fig. 1 is a side View of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view at 33 Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed vertical section al view at 4-4 Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view at 5-5 Figure 3.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view at 6-6' Figure 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional View at 7-7 Figure 4.

In the drawings like characters of referand separatelyto be passed through the crushing or breaking the hulls, the concave,

Application filed January 5, 1928. Serial No. 244,746.

ence indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The main frameof the machine is of suitable construction embodying similar front corner posts 1, similar rear corner posts 2 and intermediate posts 3, these being connected by horizontally disposed upper and lower side bars land 5 and by suitably positioned cross bars 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Rearwardly of the frame and between the sides thereof, I locate a somewhatJ-shaped concave 10, the ends of which are closed by side plates 11 and 12 secured to the frame and between which the concave is adjustably suspended. An'angle bar or other similar support 13 extends transversely across the frame being carried by the posts 3 and this bar carries adjusting screws 14 engaging with the forward end of the concave and supporting the same. vThe screws are provided at opposite sides of the angle iron flange with adjusting nuts 15 and 16 which permits of the fastening of the screws in any adjusted position. The rear vertically extending p ortion of the concaveis engaged by adjustlng screws 17 passing through an angle bar 18 secured to the cross bar 9 and these screws are also fitted with adjusting nuts 19 and 20 which permit of the fastening of said screws in any adjusted position.

Within the concave, I locate a cylinder 21 of any approved design, the cylinder being carried by the drive shaft 22 which is suitably supported in bearings carried by the upper bars 4. The cylinder and concave are adapted to'break the hulls of grain seeds fed therebetween and obviously by the arrangement shown, I can adjust the concave in respect to the cylinder to accommodate the particular grain being treated.

Above the cylinder and concave, I locate a rear feed hopper 23 which is adapted to feed the grain to be husked to the cylinder and concave and the said hopper is provided adjoining the feed outlet 24 thereof with a fluted roller 25 carried by a cross shaft 26 mounted in suitable bearings carried by elevated supports 27 extending between the upper ends of the legs 2 and3. A guard plate 28 overlies the cyhnder and extends between the side plates 11 and 12 and has the rear edge thereof terminating at the front of the hopper and the forward edge fastened to a cross bar 29 suitably secured to the machine frame. An angularly positioned plate 30 is secured to the cross bar and extends between the side plates 11 and 12 and this plate together with plate 28 forms the back of a centrally located hopper 31, the ends of which are closed by the side plates 11 and 12 and the front of which is closed by a further cross plate 32 extending between the end plates. An adjust-- able gate 33 is provided at the bottom of the hopper 31 and the discharge of grain from the latter hopper is controlled by a fluted feed roller 34 mounted on a cross shaft 35 carried in bearings supported by the top bar 4 of the frame.

At the forward end of the concave, I locate a delivery plate 36 adapted to deliver the material discharging from the concave onto the upper screen of a shoe hereinafter described. The shoe indicated generally by the reference numeral 37 is an oscillating one and comprises similar opposing side boards 38 and 39 connected by a bottom pan 40. The shoe is provided with an upper scalping screen 41 which has one end fastened to a wooden cross strip 42 and the cross strip is bolted to one end of a substantially rectangular, open centered, angle iron frame &3 adapted to be inserted in the shoe and having the upper side thereof faced with rubber strips 44 adapted to underlie the screen. Clamping strips 45 overlie the edges of screen and are fastened to the sides of the screen frame by bolts 46 fitted with winged nuts 47.

The rear end of the upper screen underlies the delivery plate 36 and the forward end of the screen is adapted to discharge onto a transversely extending chute 48 secured permanently to the forward ends of the side boards of the shoe.

The shoe carries also an under cleaning screen 4-9 which is mounted in the shoe in identically the same manner as the upper screen and accordingly the details of the mounting are not described. The lower screen is adapted to deliver the grain over the forward end thereof onto a lip 50 provided at the forward end of the shoe and the lip discharges into an inclined stationary spout 51, there being an opening 52 reserved in the side of the spout to receive the lip and permit of the oscillation of the shoe as later described.

The lower end of the spout contains a grain auger 53 carried by a cross shaft 54, the auger being adapted to deliver the grain accumulating in the lower end of the spout to the side of he machine. In a location to the rear of the lip and underlying the forward end of the under screen, I provide a transversely eX-' tending outlet passage 55 in the pan 40 and the material collected by the pan is delivered through the said passage into an underlying trough 56 permanently carried by the ma chine frame and containing a worm 57 carried by the cross shaft 58. The trough 56 has the upper edges thereof out flared in order to accommodate the reciprocating movement of the shoe and insure that all the material passing through the passage 55 will be caught and directed to the worm 57.

In a location underlying the shoe, I locate a fan can 3-1 contz-iining a blast fan 60 carried by a cross shaft 61. A blast tube 62 leads from the casing forwardly and opens to the interior of the spout 51 and has the end thereof within the spout contracted and terminating in a location directly underlying the lip 50, the arrangement being such that the stream of grain falling from the lip to the auger 53 will be subjected to a strong cleani blast of wind from the chute 62 and passing upwardly through the spout 51.

The shoe is suspended forwardly by a pair of straps 63 connected to the cross strip 6 and to the chute 48 and is supported rearwardly by a pair of spring bars 64 attached to the cross strip 7 and to the rear end of the shoe. The shoe is reciprocated by a driven cross shaft 65 which is provided with eccentrics 66 the eccentrics operating within bearings formed at the rear ends of similar arms 67 and 68, the forward ends of which are connected by hinges 69 to the pan of the shoe. Obviously upon the shaft 65 being rotated, the eccentrics will cause the forward and back shifting of the shoe.

The auger 53 is adapted to deliver the grain to an elevator 70 which is located at the forward end of the machine and containing the customary driven buckets 71, the buckets discharging the grain into the chute or bagger 72.

It is desirable to maintain the screens clear of foreign material lodging thereon and accordingly I provide a set of brushes underlying each screen and contacting therewith and reciprocated so as to effectively sweep the screens and clear them of any lodging foreign material.

The side boards of the shoe are provided with suitably located side holes 73 and through these side holes. I pass horizontally disposed arms 74 which extend outwardly from similar guide bars 7 5 located at the inner sides of the side boards and underlying the upper screen. These guides slidably support the brush holder 76 which embody angle iron side bars 7 7 connected by angle iron cross bars 78, the cross bars carrying the brushes 79 which are made of strip leather and have their upper tips engaging the under side of the upper screen. The leather strips or brushes are fastened to the vertical flanges of the bars 78 by bolts 80 passing through retaining strips 81 which engage the leather strips as best shown in Figure 7.

Brackets 82 are secured to the side boards of the shoe in locations underlying the arms 74 and adjusting bolts 83 pass through the arms and the brackets and have their lower [3 ends provided with winged nuts 83. Coiled springs 84 are mounted on the bolts between the arms 7 4: and the brackets and these springs continuously press the brushes upwardly, the

pressure of the brushes on the screen dependm ing on the adjustment of the nuts 83'.

The lower brushes indicated generally by the reference numeral 84 are identical to the upper brushes and the brush holders 85 thereof are mounted slidably on similar guide 2 strips 86 located at the inner sides of the side boards. Suitably spaced bolts 87 pass through the guide strips and are downwardly slidable through the suitably positioned brackets 88 fastened to the side boards and i W have their lower ends passing also slidably through the pan 40 where they are provided with winged nuts 89. Springs 87' are mounted on the latter bolts between the brackets and the guide bars 86 and the springs operate to t E hold the lower set of brushes with their tips in contact with the under screen, the pressure of the brushes being regulated by the nuts 89.

To the rear end of the upper brush holder,

I attach pivotally a bar 90 which has the '33 outer end slidably mounted in a bearing 90 carried centrally by the cross bar 8. Bearings 91 and 91 are provided on the cross bar and one of the rear posts of the frame which support rotatably a cross shaft 92, the inner end of which is provided with a crank 92 connected by a connecting rod 93 pivotally to the bar 90, the arrangement being such that when the said shaft 92 is rotated, the bar 90 is reciprocated and the upper brushes are caused to sweep the under side of the top screen. A substantially L-shaped arm 94 is pivotally connected to the bar 90 and to the rear end of the lower brush holder and serves to reciprocate the lower brush holder in re- W spect to the lower screen.

The various shafts hereinafter mentioned can be driven in any suitable manner in the proper direction as will be readily understood and whilst I have herein shown belts & $0 and pulleys connecting the various shafts, I

have not considered it necessary to specifically describe the several connections, it being sufficient for the purpose of the present invention that suitable means be provided for driving the respective shafts to cause the various working parts of the machine to operate. The shaft 22 is utilized as the main drive shaft of the machine'and it is herein shown as provided with a pulley 95 operated by a driving belt 96 which in turn is driven from a suitable source of power.

When the machine is to be used, such as for cleaning non-hulled seeds such as clover seed, the shaft 22 is driven and the non-hulled 0 seeds are placed in the hopper 23 and are fed by thero1ler25 to the cylinder and concave, the said roller insuring ofth-e even feeding of the seed. The cylinder and concave both have their opposing faces rasped to serveto break the hulls. The material passes from the concave over the plate 36 to the upper scalping-screen and here the desired seeds pass through the top screen and drop onto the under screen whilst the undesirable larger material is passed forwardly to the chute e8 where it is delivered to the side of the machine.

The desired seeds are caught by the under cleaning screen and are delivered over the forward end of it to the lip 50 where they discharge in a falling stream directed towards theauger 53. The air blast from the fan blows out any light material such as dust and chaff contained in the falling stream and such is discharged through the upper end of the spout 51. The desired cleaned seeds are delivered by the latter auger to the elevator and subsequently to the bagger. The dust, dirt and small weed seeds, passing through. the lower screen 49, are caught by the pan 40 which delivers to the worm 57, the latter discharging to the side of the machine.

When it is desired to clean grains or seeds that do not require hulling, the hopper 31 is used, as obviously it is not necessary to pass the mixed grains between the cylinder and concave to effect the breaking of the hulls. The grain is fed from the hopper 31 by the fluted roller and drops onto the upper screen and thereafter the scalping and cleaning of the grain is carried on in the same manner as previously described.

In both instances, the screens are kept clean by the reciprocating brushes which it will be noted have a considerably longer stroke than the shoe which agitates the screens. The screens can be readily taken out when desired and are interchangeable and by virtue of the construction, worn out brushes can be readily replaced. Various sizes of screens can be used depending on the grain being treated.

This machine can be used separately by the farmer in his granary or if desired can be mounted on the top of the well known threshing machine where it will reclean the grain discharging from the bagger of the threshing machine.

What I claim as my invention is In a grain cleaning machine, the combination with an endwise reciprocated shoe and a screen carried by the side boards of the shoe, of guide bars located to the inner sides of the side boards and underlying the screen, arms permanently secured to the guide bars and extending outwardly through vertically disposed slots provided in the boards, brackets permanently secured to the outer sides of the side boards, and underlying the outer ends of the arms, adjusting bolts tying the brackets to the arms, springs interposed 011 the bolts and operating to press the bars upwardly to the limit of the adjustment provided by the bolts, a brush holder slidably mounted on the guide bars for endwise slicling movement underneath the screen, a set of transversely extending flexible brushes carried by the holder and engaging the under side of the screen and means for reciprocating the holder to cause the brushes to sweep the under side of the screen.

Signed at Dauphin, Manitoba, this 12th day of December, 1927.

FREDERICK FORSBERG. 

